


She's Not Him

by kirani



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Break Up, Cat Puns, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Lovers to Friends, M/M, Soul Bond, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-07 08:03:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17956736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kirani/pseuds/kirani
Summary: Adam tries not to think too hard about the fact that his cat’s eyes are brown and his hair is black just like Ransom and that Ransom’s cat has blue eyes and blond hair just like him. Because Ransom has never shown any interest in him that way or ever brought up that their cats are a perfect match.~April pets Maple softly so as not to wake her, and wonders. She’s never met another soul cat who liked her so much as March’s did. She was pretty sure March’s cat likes her more than her own did. Did that… mean something?~Written for Femslash February (kinda)





	She's Not Him

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Soul Cat](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15087260) by [Denois](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Denois/pseuds/Denois). 



> A big thank you and shoutout to Denois for letting me borrow their soul cat concept (check out the based on work for their NurseyDex in this universe!) and for helping me brainstorm how this would work out. And thank you to bigspicysenpai for the help with cat puns! They’re very important.  
> ~  
> Title is from the Miley Cyrus song "She's Not Him"

**Adam**

From the moment Adam moves into the attic of the Haus with his best friend at the start of their sophomore year, their soul cats get along. 

Thanks to Adam’s near-blindness, his soul cat has always had terrible vision. And since it’s nearly impossible to get a cat to wear glasses (he’s tried), Socks (he was four years old, okay?) had generally been pretty happy to just sit and nap and listen to the world. But when Ransom’s cat moves in, it all changes. Leo (short for Leonardo DeCatrio of all things) seems to realize that Adam’s cat can’t see immediately and begins to coax him away from his hidey holes and lead him around the Haus. A seeing eye cat, basically. 

It’s the cutest thing Adam has ever seen.

For a week, maybe two, Adam hopes it means something more. But Ransom seems to accept it as just proof of their eternal friendship, because if their cats didn’t get along how could they be best bros forever? 

So Adam drops it. All through sophomore year and junior year, they live together, play together, stress together, and their cats become best bros, too. 

Adam tries not to think too hard about the fact that his cat’s eyes are brown and his hair is black just like Ransom and that Ransom’s cat has blue eyes and blond hair just like him. Because Ransom has never shown any interest in him that way or ever brought up that their cats are a perfect match. 

It’s not a problem until Ransom gets a girlfriend. This isn’t his casual relationships of years past, but an actual girlfriend.

It’s late fall semester in senior year when he starts talking about nothing and no one but March.

March is great. That’s not the problem. She’s sweet but doesn’t take Ransom’s shit. She’s smart and fun to talk to. Her eyes are green so she’s not a soul match, but Ransom deserves to have fun in college. So Adam says nothing. 

The problem is that Leo  _ hates _ March. Not in a general dislike, aloof kind of way most cats are about non-matches. But in a sheer hatred kind of way. All three of them have the scratches to prove it. 

Adam isn’t sure it’s a rational response to his person dating a non-match, but he’s not going to critique another person’s cat, even his best bro. 

So March doesn’t come over. They go out places, they hang out in the main rooms of the Haus or they go over to the Volleyball house. Sometimes March comes along on their best bro adventures and Adam even starts kinda-sorta seeing another volleyball player, April, who March sets him up with, probably so he won’t feel like a third wheel. Her cat doesn’t like Adam and his cat doesn’t like her, but they both agreed from the get-go that this wasn’t a soul mate potential match. Just a way to have fun in college. No strings. No big deal. 

March and Ransom, however, start getting more serious. They spend a lot of time together, and Ransom seems to be constantly texting her. They go out for a fancy dinner on Valentine’s Day. They are as official as a college couple can be. 

She doesn’t seem phased by the fact that her boyfriend’s cat hates her with a fiery passion, but as time goes on, it’s clear Ransom cares. 

After a few months of avoiding his cat, it finally comes to a head. 

“Why does he hate March so much?”

“What? Who hates March?” Adam asks, half in his textbook still. 

“My soul cat. He hates my girlfriend. It sucks.”

“Oh,” Adam says, closing his book and devoting all of his focus to Ransom. “He probably just doesn’t like that you’re dating a non-match.”

Ransom stares at him. “A non-match?”

“Yeah? They don’t even have the same eye color, bro,” Adam begins. 

“Yes, they do! They both have green eyes and blonde hair!” 

“Bro, your cat has blue eyes. Like, really blue eyes.”

“What.” Ransom gapes. Not a question. 

“Bro, did you never ask anyone what color his eyes were? You know blue and green look really similar to colorblind eyes.”

“I know that!” 

“But?”

“But I thought I knew! It’s my soul cat! How could I not know?”

“Because you’re colorblind?”

“Yes, but I thought I knew! Like, I would intrinsically just… know.”

Ransom is quickly falling down the path to panic so Adam takes him in his arms, rubbing soothing circles on his back. 

“How could I not know?” he mumbles over and over into Adam’s shoulder.

“Just breath, Rans. It’s gonna be alright.”

“I thought we’d found something!”

“Even with how your cat acts?”

“I just thought he needed time,” Ransom groans. “And she never saw him so she couldn’t tell. She’s going to be so upset. She named her cat Maple for crying out loud! How much more obvious can a match get?”

“She’ll understand,” Adam promises. He’s pretty sure March knows they’re not a match based on the cat’s behavior alone, never mind their eye colors not matching. “It’ll all be okay.”

He promises this again and again until Ransom finally calms down enough to sleep. 

Adam can’t sleep, though. He had no idea that Ransom had thought they were a match. How could he have? His cat hates her so much he has drawn blood. But he had been so heartbroken when Adam told him. 

Was he in love? 

Adam felt tears coming to his eyes unbidden, Ransom sleeping against his chest. His best bro was in so much pain and he couldn’t do anything about it. 

~ 

The next day, Ransom wakes groggy but committed. 

“Rans, you don’t have to rush over there right now,” Adam tries to slow him down. 

“Yes, I do. I’ve messed this all up and she deserves to know.”

“Well, at least text her first?”

“Fine.”

Adam texts April after he leaves.

Adam: hey can you keep an eye out for rans? he just went over to the vball house p upset and i’m worried about him

**April** : Yeah of course. What’s going on?

**Adam** : i’ll tell you later

It’s another thirty minutes before Adam gets another text, which he spends pacing the attic floor until Bitty yells at him to sit the fuck down or he’d put him to work. 

**April** : I think they just broke up?? What is happening?? It was going so well!

**Adam** : not my story, sorry. i’ll ask rans if i can tell you later. is he coming back here?

**April** : Yeah.

**Adam** : thanks

He pockets his phone and rushes downstairs to intercept Ransom as he enters the Haus. He spots Adam and immediately collapses into him. 

The next couple of days are a blur. He manages to get Ransom to a couple of classes but mostly he’s happy if he gets out of bed and changes clothes once a day. 

He meets with April and tells her what he can of the situation, since he still doesn’t really understand how Ransom had gotten so attached to the idea that they were soulmates. 

“I don’t think March really thought they were either, after the cat fiasco.”

“Yeah,” Adam agrees. “I get how the color mix up happened, but…”

“Yeah,  _ but _ ,” April agrees.

“How could you think you’re soulmates when your cat is that violent towards her?” he asks rhetorically.

“I have no idea,” April shakes her head. “How’s he doing?”

Adam sighs. 

“That good?”

“He’s a complete mess.”

“I figured.”

“How’s March?” Adam asks. 

“She’s bummed but… I don’t think she believed that they were soul mates, not really. So I think she’s taking it better than Justin.”

“Well, that’s good at least.”

They sit in silence another moment before Adam opens his mouth again.

“I’m really sorry to do this but I don’t think I can see you anymore. Rans needs me.”

“Oh,” April says. 

“I like hanging out with you, but we agreed this was just fun, right? And my bro needs me right now.”

“That’s fair. It has been fun, though.”

She looks sad but Adam is too focused on Ransom needing him to say anything more. 

“Say hi to March for me, alright? And tell her I’m sorry.”

“I will. Thanks.”

~

**April**

April was not looking forward to going back to the volleyball house, so she took the long route back from Annie’s after coffee with her ex-whatever they were. 

Not that she thought they were soulmates, his cat didn’t like her much and hers definitely didn’t like him, but they were having fun and that was all that mattered to her right now. She thought they’d had a good thing going. 

Apparently, it wasn’t that good, as Adam had been really quick to dismiss it. 

Whatever, he’s a grumpy hockey bro. She could do better. She  _ will _ do better. 

Finally decided, she cut across the quad to the volleyball house. She was paused in front of March’s door trying to decide if she should knock or not when the door opened.

“Oh, hi,” March blinked. “Were you looking for me?”

April shrugged. “Just had coffee with Adam. He says hi.”

“Cool,” March tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “How is he?”

“He dumped me. For a given value of dumped considering we weren’t really ever dating.”

“Oh, April, I’m so sorry,” March said, her eyebrows meeting in the middle and her hand resting on April’s forearm. 

April smiled weakly. “Thanks. It’s okay, though.”

She looked down in time to see March’s cat leave the room and wind around April’s ankles. 

“Hi, Maple,” April smiles. “Will you be my new trivia buddy?”

She leaned down to scratch the cat’s head and got a soft purr in response. 

“Wait, he’s ditching you for trivia, too?”

April shrugs and continues petting March’s soul cat. 

“He said Justin needed him right now. So I figure he’s ditching me for trivia, too.”

“I’m sorry, honey.”

April shrugs again as March wraps her in her hug. 

“I know you two weren’t, like, serious, but it’s still a sucky way to get dumped. Come on, let’s get some ice cream and some bad movies and have a girl’s night.”

April smiles at her best friend. 

“Okay,” she agrees.

~

Hours later, the movie credits rolling, April realizes March has fallen asleep behind her. In April’s lap, March’s soul cat was also asleep, also snoring softly. 

April pets Maple softly so as not to wake her, and wonders. 

She’s never met another soul cat who liked her so much as March’s did. She was pretty sure March’s cat likes her more than her own did. Did that… mean something?

There was a trope about this, she thinks, in romcoms. Cats showing preference but their people never connecting that it was a soul match, not just a friend. How much did a cat have to do to convey a soul match? She wasn’t sure. 

Sometimes, when March fell asleep against her or when their eyes met at team breakfast, she wondered about them. March had never shown any romantic interest in her or any women for that matter, but maybe they were platonic soulmates? 

Not that April would be opposed to a romantic match with her best friend. She was gorgeous and sweet and an excellent nap buddy. She might just take a little nap right now, actually. 

She surreptitiously checks hers and March’s calendars in her phone, they’d shared Google calendars since frog year, and saw nothing until evening. So she set an alarm for ninety minutes later, tucked her phone into her hoodie pocket, and snuggled into her best friend’s warmth. 

~

“Hey, March?”

March looks up from her textbook, highlighter cap hanging out of her mouth. “Hmm?”

“Have you ever thought about how much our cats get along?”

It’s been bugging her for days and she has to ask. 

“Oh,” March blinks, capping her highlighter. “Not really. Cats like your friends. I guess I’ve never really thought about it. You kinda are her favorite though.”

“And you’re kinda Debbie Hairy’s favorite, too. Do you think,” April takes a deep breath, “do you think it means something?”

“I think you do,” March says cautiously. “And I think makes a lot of sense.”

“You’re my favorite person, too, you know. Not just my cat’s.”

“You’re my favorite person, too,” March grinned. “Do you think… I mean…”

“I’m open to whatever. Platonic, romantic, just… you and me.”

“Yeah?” March reached across the table and took April’s hand. 

“Yeah.”

“In that case, I’d like to take you on a date.”

April nodded quickly and grinned as March laughed. Her heart felt like it would burst with love for her best friend and soulmate. 

~

March took her to a little Italian place just off campus and April was all sorts of nervous. She kept fidgeting with the hem of her dress until April took her hand and squeezed it. 

Then she was a different sort of nervous because March was holding her hand! 

“April,” March smiled softly at her from across the table. “It’s just us.”

“I know,” April agreed.

“But?”

“But I’m still nervous. You’re my best friend and probably my soulmate and I want this to work so badly I don’t even know how to talk right now!”

March laughed. “I’m nervous, too, but I trust us. We’ve been best friends for three years. We know each other. We can handle anything.”

April grinned and squeezed her hand. 

“I think you’re right. Still gonna be nervous.”

“That’s fair.”

Their server arrived then and they ordered wine and pasta. 

And then they were alone again.

“This is still so weird!” April giggled. 

“Let’s just chat like always,” March suggested. “Oh! Did I tell you I got that history essay back?”

“No! How’d you do?”

“Ninety-one. I’ll take it.”

“That’s amazing, March!” 

Their wine arrived and April took her glass and lifted it to the center. 

“To us,” she declared.

March blushed prettily. “To us.”

~

**Justin**

Justin was walking across the quad, mind occupied with thoughts of papers to write and hockey plays to plan when he ran into March again. Literally.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she began, then seemed to realize who she had just shoulder checked. “Hi.”

“Hey yourself,” Justin replied, a small smile on his lips. “How’ve you been?”

“Um, alright,” March shrugged, trying to hide a grin. 

“Just alright?” He chirped. 

“Well, it feels weird to talk to you about it, is all.”

“What? Why?” His mind raced with terrible possibilities.

“Well, I met my soulmate.”

Justin’s eyes widened, then he blinked rapidly. 

“Oh, congrats.”

“Thanks. I didn’t  _ just _ meet her, though, I mean, it’s April. We just only now realized it?”

“That’s so cool, though. I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks,” she said again. “Are you rushing off to somewhere?”

Justin shook his head. 

“You wanna get a coffee? Catch up?”

“Sure,” Justin agreed and turned to walk with her. 

After a moment walking in silence, he spoke again. 

“How’d you figure it out?”

“April did, actually,” she explained. “We were watching a movie and my cat just curled up on her and fell asleep. She started thinking about all the times our cats did stuff like that and how much they liked each other and… once we gave them the opportunity they bonded properly. We can hardly keep them apart.”

“And are you two together now? I don’t wanna assume but I didn’t know you liked women.”

“Oh, yeah, I do. Especially April. She’s great,” March grinned. 

“I can tell,” Justin laughed. “I’m glad you two figured it out.”

“Me, too. But enough about me. How have you been?”

Justin shrugged. “Alright, I guess. Holster has been amazing these last few weeks. I had… kinda a rough time of it.”

“I’m sorry,” March blushed. “I didn’t mean to rub it in your face or anything.”

“No! You’re fine! I’m doing better. I was just living in a fantasy land and snapping out of it was rough.”

March nodded and waited for him to continue. He took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry I sprang all that on you. I did really like you.”

“I really liked you, too, Justin.”

They walked a little further in silence before March drew herself up and asked, “How are you and Adam?”

“What do you mean?”

“I just…” she paused, seeming to consider her next words carefully. “Don’t your cats match, too?”

Justin stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. March turned to face him. 

“Justin?”

“Oh my God,” he panicked. 

“Are you alright?”

“I spent all this time thinking my cat’s eyes were green so I didn’t even consider Holster.”

“You didn’t?” March gaped at him. “It never crossed your mind?”

“Hey, you didn’t figure yours out either,” Justin teased, trying to smile.

“Okay, fair. Do you think it’s possible though?”

Justin nodded eagerly. “It makes so much sense! Like you were saying with yours and April’s cats! They like each other and you both and the colorings line up.”

“It does make sense,” March nodded. 

“You said your cats bonded, what did they do?”

“They just spend all their time together or they swap people sometimes. They’re very affectionate.”

“March, I’m so sorry,” Justin said earnestly.

“What? Why are you sorry?”

“I think our cats have been bonded for years. Mine and Holster’s. We’ve lived together for nearly three years and our cats have been inseparable. That’s probably why my cat was so horrible to you.”

March stared at him for a moment, then she laughed. 

Justin furrowed his eyebrows. “What’s so funny?”

“Only you two would have such a codependent friendship you failed to notice your soul cats are literally bonded.”

Justin cracked a smile. “Okay, that is kinda funny.”

She grinned at him. 

“You think I’m right?” he asked.

“I think you definitely are. You should go tell him.”

Justin’s eyes widened again. “Right now?”

“What better time than the present?” March asked. “Promise me one thing, though.”

“What?”

“Come out with April and me on a double date when you two figure your shit out.”

“Deal,” Justin grinned. “I owe you so much more than dinner, March.”

“You bet your hockey ass you do. Now go get your man.”

Justin gave her a kiss on the cheek and ran off across the quad, March laughing behind him.

~

“Holster? Adam?”

Justin ran up the stairs to the attic. “You home?”

Holster looked up when he burst into the room, pulling out an earbud then quickly ditching the other when he saw Justin. 

“Rans? Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

Justin shook his head and took several big breaths, flustered from running all the way back to the Haus. 

“I saw March,” he gets out. 

Adam’s eyes widen. “How was it? Are you alright?”

Justin just shook his head again. “She said…”

“It’s okay, Justin, you don’t have to tell me.”

“I really do. She said she and April are soulmates.”

“Oh,” Holster said. 

“And she asked if we had figured ours out.”

“Wait, what?”

“Holster. Adam. Our cats match. I didn’t think about it because I thought his eyes were green.”

“Right, but that doesn’t have to mean anything, Rans. Just because March and April are—“

“No, I think it does,” Justin cut him off. “In fact, I think they’ve been bonded for years.”

Holster paled. “What?”

“It all makes sense. They’re so attached, ever since we moved in. My cat hated March so much because he was already bonded and didn’t get why I was dating someone else!”

“Rans, what are you saying?”

“I think we’re soulmates, bro.”

“And you  _ want _ to be?” Adam asked quietly. 

“I want nothing more. It’s totally up to you if we keep it best bros platonic style, But you’re stuck with me, Adam.”

“Up to me?” Adam squeaked. “Are you even… interested in me that way?”

“Yes, you gorgeous idiot, I am very much interested.”

“Oh thank God,” Adam breathed.

Then he closed the distance between them, taking Justin’s face in his hands and kissing him fiercely. 

Justin wrapped his arms around his waist and melted into the kiss. 

“We’re really stupid, aren’t we?” Justin mumbled against Adam’s lips when they broke for air, panting into the small space between them. 

“We really are.”

~

Justin woke up in his boxers with his best friend and soulmate (!) wrapped around him, both crammed into a tiny bunk bed for no reason other than they didn’t want to be apart. 

“Adam?” 

Adam rumbled a hum from behind him. 

“We owe March and April a double date.”

Adam laughed. “Okay.”

~

**March**

March can hardly believe her luck. Only a few weeks after Justin had dumped her out of the blue, she was dating her soulmate! 

They were taking things slow. They wanted to make sure they had a solid relationship going. They were best friends first and they’d both just gotten out of relationships. Best to go slow. 

And if it was better off platonic, that was fine. So long as they still had each other. 

Though March was pretty certain the romantic partnership was going to work out, given how her entire body came alive when she kissed April. 

Butterflies in her stomach, goosebumps on her skin, her very hair felt electric.

Plus, their cats had bonded instantly when given the opportunity. They had met before, of course, they had gotten along just fine in fact, but once they showed their cats their new relationship? All bets were off. 

March woke up with April’s cat snuggling her more often than her own, and the two were always sleeping in the same bed when they got back from class. 

It was a textbook bond and they’re starting to make plans to move in together next year. How could they have ever considered living apart? Living down the hall from each other right now is almost too much some nights. 

March was thinking she may ask to spend the night at April’s soon. Very soon. Maybe tonight? 

She needed to stop thinking about this or she would never get her homework done.

She wondered about Justin and Adam and how they were doing. After that little run in on the quad, she’d been curious if Justin had said anything, but she didn’t want to invade. 

She forgot about them, though, as Debbie climbed up her leg and settled next to her on the bed. She was followed shortly by her person, as April entered the room and curled up on her other side. 

March didn’t want to be anywhere but here, between her girlfriend and her soul cat, ever again.

~

The next week, March noticed a text as she was packing up after class. 

**Justin:** You were right

**March** : ??

**Justin** : Holtzy and I are soulmates

**March** : congrats!!

She grinned at her phone. She really was happy for him. He deserved to find love, too.

**Justin:** iirc i owe you a double date

**March:** you do

**Justin:** does Friday night work for you two?

March pulled up her calendar and checked they were free before confirming and walking to meet April at the dining hall. 

“Hey, babe,” April greeted her when she found her in line. “How was class?”

March grinned and kissed her hello. 

“It was alright, pretty chill morning. How was studying?”

April shrugged, slipping her hand into March’s. 

“Not ready for the exam but better than I was.”

“You’ve got this, babe. I’ll quiz you over lunch.”

“Alright,” April squeezed her hand and dropped it, pulling out her ID to swipe into the dining hall. 

“Oh, I forgot to tell you!” March exclaimed as they loaded up their trays. “I was right. Justin and Adam are totally soulmates.”

“I knew it!” April cheered. 

“So they’re taking us to dinner Friday.”

“Excellent.”

And so the four of them ended up sitting in a booth at a cute little diner, soulmates pressed into each booth. Adam had his arm over Justin’s shoulders and March and April were holding hands on the table across from them. 

The conversation washed over her easily, just four friends catching up, sharing stories about classes and games as easily as if they weren’t eating dinner with their exes. 

“Can you believe how we got here?” Justin mused in a lull in the conversation.

“It is a pretty tall tale,” April agreed and March squeezed her hand. 

“I think it’s an excellent  _ tail _ ,” March grinned.

Adam extended a fist for a bump as April and Justin groaned. 

“The whole world of soul cat-related puns and you went with ‘tail’? Weak, March,” Justin chirped. 

“Oh? And what have you got?”

“A clawsome story,” Justin offered.

“Meownificent!” Adam added.

“A purr-fect ending,” April suggested.

“You’re the cat’s meow,” March smiled at her girlfriend. 

“Groan!” Justin said loudly. 

“Okay, okay, no more cat puns,” April laughed. 

March held her hands up in defeat. 

April smiled and kissed her cheek. 

“Aw,” Adam and Justin said together. 

“Yeah, like you two are any better,” March teased. 

Adam blushed but Justin just smiled and cuddled into his boyfriend. 

“I’m glad we all figured it out in the end,” Justin sighed. 

“Yeah,” April agreed. 

“I missed you two,” Adam said. 

“We missed you, too,” March agreed. 

“Don’t suppose you’re up for coming back to the trivia team?” April smirked. 

“Oh my god, would you really let me come back?” Adam shouted. 

April laughed. “Please! We suck without your inane pop culture knowledge.” 

“Deal,” Adam stuck out a hand and April shook it with a smile. 

Their server arrived with drinks and once again April lifted her glass in a toast. 

“To the missteps along the journey that led us here. To soulmates and friends and exes and  _ trivia night _ !”

“Here, here,” Adam shouted back, and they all clinked their glasses together. 

As she and April walked back to the volleyball house that night, plans to crawl into March’s bed and refuse to get up until morning, she sighed contentedly. 

April smiled down at her. “You good?”

“I’m so great, babe. Couldn’t be happier.”

**Author's Note:**

> comments make my life or come bug me on tumblr at [willdexpoindexter](https://willdexpoindexter.tumblr.com/)  
> ETA: I just reread this and it’s a tense nightmare I’m so sorry. I’ll fix it soon. But it’s 1am right now.


End file.
